Chapter Forty-Two

“What did you do to me?” Adrian repeats my question for himself, his gaze flickering to my lips. I think he’s going to kiss me, but he leans to place his head on my shoulder, shoulder slumping in defeat. “You make me feel so weak.”

I unfold my arms and wrap them around his neck, hugging him to me. “I know,” I breathe, tangling my finger in his hair. His body is so warm against mine, particularly one region that presses firmly against my hips. “I want to swallow you whole.”

“You can’t say things like that,” Adrian moans and lifts his head, smashing his mouth against mine, unable to restrain himself any longer. Our tongues take turns flickering against each other’s teeth, exploring one another’s mouths thoroughly. When I crack my eyes open, I find him already staring at me with his dark gaze, burning with passion behind his half-lidded eyes. I try to pull away to say something, but he presses me back to him by the back of my neck, continuing to ravage my bruised lips with hunger. With his free hand, he grabs my butt and hoists me up onto the counter, deepening his kiss when I wrap my legs around his waist to pull him closer. I’m not sure how long we grab at each other, but the sound of my phone vibrating against the counter across the kitchen finally brings us to our senses before we start taking enough other's clothes off.

Adrian lets me push him back by his chest so I can speak, both of us out of breath. “That might be my dad,” I explain, pointing to my phone.

He sighs, leaning his forehead against mine for a moment before placing another gentle kiss against my lips, a silent promise to continue this later. He sets me back down on the ground and releases me, watching me wobble across the room to answer the call before I miss it.

“Hello?” I hope I don’t sound too obviously breathless as I answer my father’s call.

“Pumpkin?” His familiar voice comes from the speaker, laced with concern. “Are you alright? You sound out of breath.”

Adrian snickers at the comment from across the kitchen as he rinses the berries in the sink, making wish I had something to throw at him. “Yeah, I left my phone upstairs so I had to run to grab it,” I explain, taking my seat back at the stool to avoid having my knees give out on me.

“Oh, alright. What did you need to talk about?” He asks. It sounds like he’s walking somewhere, probably in between meetings. “Is it about school?”

“Actually, it is. Why didn’t you tell me?”

My father pauses, the sound of his footsteps stopping with him. “Tell you what, buttercup?” He asks coyly.

I sigh heavily, raking a hand through my hair in frustration at his attempts to play stupid. “Dad, I went to see Dean De Leon yesterday after class. He told me everything about the school, about Adrian, and about us. Why didn’t you tell me? That explanation should have come from you, not from him,” I don’t bother hiding the hurt, accusatory tone in my voice. “I wouldn’t have believed him if I didn’t see proof for myself.”

The prolonged silence on the other line makes me start to worry that the line dropped by the time my father speaks again, voice calculating and collected. “He showed you what, exactly?”

I clench my jaw, unable to believe how hard he’s trying to play innocent. “You know what Adrian is, dad. I know you know everything. What I don’t get is why you lied to me.”

More silence as he decides what to say next, choosing his words carefully, in a way that further hurts my feelings. He’s not telling me everything. “Adrian is there to protect you, nothing else. Aurelius is off his rocker to have told you anything like that,” I can imagine him pacing in the hallway of his office building, tearing at his hair. “Just… Stay with Adrian until I can come there and explain everything. It might take a few weeks, but I’m going to come. I’m sorry you had to find out about it that way, honey. I’m going to have a chat with Aurelius about his behavior.”

My eyes flicker to Adrian as he assembles our plates for breakfast as I purse my lips at the lack of information my father is giving me, not even an explanation. It’s unusually unlike him, which makes me believe what De Leon said all the more. “Fine. I’m guessing you have to go now, right?” I say flatly.

My dad sighs into his phone, detecting the disappointment I feel for him at the moment. “I’ll explain everything when I can. Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ve always been okay, dad. I’ll handle this too,” I ridicule, hanging up the phone and setting back on the counter with more force than necessary.

Adrian mounds our plates with berries and freshly whipped cream, setting one in front of me while he takes the stool beside me. He also brings me my forgotten espresso which I accept gratefully as I glare at my phone.

“So your father was unhelpful,” He concludes, voice gentle as he places a hand on my back. “We can still figure things out on our own. Aurelius is a pain in the ass, but he can give us more information about your father’s magic.”

I take a long sip of my fresh coffee, willing it to calm my nerves. I probably should have made some tea instead, but I didn’t anticipate the conversation with my father going in that direction. I thought he would at least give me some sort of explanation instead of putting it off for his arrival. By the time he clears his schedule to fly to Montana, I’ll probably already have enough information to satisfy me. I guess this is just going to be one thing I can’t rely on him for.

I offer Adrian a tight-lipped smile, grateful for his willingness to help me get some answers. “I know, I can count on you.”

He pulls me closer to him by my waist, planting a sweet kiss against my temple. “Of course, you can. We’ll figure this out on our own. I can ask around within the Pack, too. My dad must know something too, I just have to track him down.”

“Does your dad not have a phone? You don’t know where he is?” I ask, staring at him in disbelief.

Adrian shrugs, picking up his fork. “He does, but he never answers my calls. He could be anywhere in the country handling Pack matters, and he might not even be in his human form right now. Sometimes he goes months before turning back.”

My mouth hangs open at his explanation. It never occurred to me that they can shift into their wolf forms whenever they want to, though Adrian had already said as much last night in the study. The full moons only make them a little crazier, but they don’t have an effect on whether they change forms or not. “I forgot, you can change whenever you want,” I murmur, staring down at my plate. He could work at a restaurant for how beautifully he can cook. I wonder briefly if he ever has. “It must be hard to run all the wolves in the country.”

Adrian forks some food into his mouth, speaking around his mouthful. “It is. I was helping him out before your father reached out for this favor,” He explains. “This is much more fun,” He jabs a finger into his cream and wipes it on my nose, taking me by surprise.

I lean away from him with a squeak, nearly spilling my espresso into my plate. He successfully ropes a smile out of me, as I chuckle, grabbing him by the arm and pushing my face against his cheek, transferring the cream back to him.

Adrian laughs, the sound filling the kitchen and making it feel more at home than I’ve ever felt. He reaches over to wipe the fluff from my face, sucking his fingers clean as he continues to grin like a little kid. His dimples have never looked more adorable on him. “There you are,” He says, reaching to swipe at his cheek. “I was starting to feel sad, seeing you mope.”

I smile more genuinely this time as I settle back into my stool, feeling much better now. His eyes shimmer with laughter in the sunlight, making me want to kiss him badly. “Will you stay here with me?” I ask, taking myself by surprise.

He tilts his head at my question, eyeing the blush that creeps up my face with a boyish grin. “Are you asking me to move in with you?” He says voice laced with playful jesting.

I resist the urge to throw a handful of cream at him in my embarrassment. In all my years dating, I never expected to be the first to suggest moving in together. “You don’t have to,” I say sheepishly, reaching for my cup. “I just thought it would be easier than running back and forth.”

“I’ll do it,” He says, brushing a thumb across my cheek with a soft smile. “I’d love to move in with you.”